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Eating Habits vs. Weight Loss: Coaching My Dad Towards Better Health
I’ve been my dad’s nutrition coach for a little over two years now and while working with ALL of my clients is rewarding, working with my dad has been especially rewarding in its own way. And while you may think I’m here to boast about how I’ve helped my dad lose a bunch of weight and finally get back to his high school football weight and body composition, I’m actually here to tell you that he hasn’t changed much physically and hasn’t really lost any weight at all.
Making Nutrition Easy During Big Life Changes: Navigating Divorce, Death, Moves and More
You might be faced with some big life events throughout the year - the ones we don't anticipate and that aren't always celebrations. These are often complex, emotional, challenging, and demanding situations that can make our nutrition seem especially overwhelming. Looking at these significant life events, there are three key things I learned that I think would benefit your nutrition should you find yourself amid these big life events and life changes.
The Calorie Deficit Checklist: Am I Ready for Fat Loss?
We already know that a calorie deficit is the most important factor at play when it comes to pursuing fat loss goals. But, for most, staying in a consistent calorie deficit is a lot more challenging (and far more complex) than just “eating less and moving more.” One roadblock I see hindering progress over and over is not being in the right place to commit to these goals from the start.
Nutrition Lessons from Houseplants: Environment is Everything
Recently, as I was doing a major plant care day, I thought of one of those unattributed inspirational quotes you see online that says something like “nothing in nature blooms all year long; be patient with yourself.” I love a good metaphor, so of course that got me thinking about all of the other lessons my plants have taught me, and (because I’m a nutrition coach) how those lessons apply to nutrition-related goals.
High Protein Plant-Based Peanut Noodle Bowl Recipe
As the seasons change, our bodies often crave fresh ingredients and lighter meals. When you’re prepping for a busy week, it can be tough to not lean on convenience, but there are easy ways to still get in plenty of whole foods and protein from plant-based sources without spending a ton of time doing so. This easy healthy vegan peanut noodle bowl packs a punch of plant-based protein, is full of fresh veggies and is an easy meal to prep for the whole week!
Fat Loss and Mental Health: Why Weight Loss is Not Therapy
Many of us believe that the smaller we are the more acceptable we are. And the smaller we are the happier we are. But here’s the thing: Weight loss isn't therapy. Therapy with a licensed mental health practitioner is therapy.
REMOVING GUILT AND SHAME FROM OUR FOOD CHOICES
For many, our nutrition history has been very confusing. There has been so much right or wrong thrown our way via marketing; so many “good” foods and “bad” foods as decided by some particular fad within diet culture; fleeting trends with changing definitions of what’s right and wrong; and certain thoughts and feelings we’ve attached to certain food choices. So, how do we go about breaking these habits of guilt and shame around our food choices?
Essential Nutrition Tips for a Healthy Pregnancy: Understanding our Individualized Needs
A pregnant body is growing a whole new life. All of that most important formation requires ample and diverse nutrition. No pregnancy journey is going to look the same, and that also applies to every individuals’ nutrition during pregnancy. This is a time to prioritize quality choices where possible and feed your body with whatever sounds good. When we have a solid foundation of nutrition, we are able to weather seasons of life where appetite and food choices look quite different without stress.
How to Track a Recipe in Cronometer for Accurate Macros
Weighing and logging food is a super helpful tool in training our eyeballs to recognize more specific portion sizes. During food logging adventures, we are bound to begin diving into recipes rather than individual food items. Logging recipes can be extremely helpful for switching up typical meals each week or grouping together similar daily food items to make logging even quicker. We like the app Cronometer as it’s by far the most accurate tracking database and provides a lot of data that can be helpful along your macro tracking journey.
How to Track a Recipe in MyFitnessPal for Accurate Macros
If you are new to tracking your macros, the idea of tracking recipes can seem overwhelming. Adding a recipe into MFP is neither impossible nor time consuming. It can seem daunting at first, but is faster after some practice. I enjoy MFP for its ease of use, especially when it comes to adding recipes or repeat meals. We’re teaching you exactly how to do it in this post!
Debunking the Myth of Good vs. Bad Foods: The Key to a Better Relationship With Food
Our relationship with food is something that has been crafted over many years of familial influence, social gatherings, and trendy “quick grab” headlines. You likely have foods categorized into groups like “breakfast, lunch, dinner”, “good and bad”, “healthy and unhealthy”. While some of these categories might be useful, others might be a barricade built in front of our own food freedom.
Tracking Alcohol Macros & Macro-Friendly Holiday Cocktail Recipess
When you think of holiday treats, a cocktail may not be the first thing that comes to mind. But between more dinners with family or friends and other holiday celebrations, chances are you’ll run into a cocktail or two. Whether you’re hosting Christmas brunch or having a cozy snow day at home, here are some of our favorite winter cocktails.
Setting Sticky Goals for 2022: Finally Achieve your Nutrition Goals
Why are gyms and fitness classes packed with new gym-goers in the beginning of January but then back to normal crowds come mid-February? I don’t think the problem is that we’re bad at trying to be healthier, but that we are inherently bad at setting ourselves up with New Year’s resolutions we can actually keep. Today we’re talking about 3 things you can do set goals you can actually keep in 2022.
2021 Holiday Gift Guide: Top Health and Fitness Picks from KLN Coaches
Our team has grown since our last Gift Guide, but we love sharing some of our favorite products - nutrition, cooking, fitness, and health related - and are doing so early this year knowing that the holidays are sneaking up quickly. This week we’re each sharing a favorite health or fitness gift that we hope you find useful as you start holiday shopping (or start your own list of what you may want this holiday season!)
A Comprehensive Guide to Supplements: Protein, Fish Oil, Creatine, and More
We often turn to supplements when wanting to lose body fat, change our body composition, or improve our health, but most often supplements should be the last thing on our minds. After 10+ years working with clients via fitness and nutrition, I can confidently say that about 98% of people should focus on these basic principles before spending any of their time, money, or energy on which supplements they should take.
Understanding How Medications Affect Fat Loss and Weight Management
One of the best things we can do for ourselves is to eliminate the fixed mindset that medication means weight gain, and to instead shift our focus to prioritizing our mental health so that our physical health can follow. We need to reprioritize and recognize that the benefits of stable mental health outweigh the desire to lose weight.
Managing Nutrition During Busy Times: The Power of Setting Minimums
Today’s post talks about the power of setting minimums - how they can be an effective tool for progress, and the recurring theme that progress is about flexibility, not about an “all or nothing” approach.
Frozen Yogurt Smoothie Pops: A Macro-Friendly Summer Recipe
Ice cream and sweet cold treats are some of my favorites when it comes to dessert, especially in the heat of the summer. When tracking your macros, it can sometimes be tough to work in a “healthy” sweet treat or dessert, which is why we created these low-calorie high protein frozen yogurt smoothie popsicles.